Best Practices

How Kansas City Celebrates 10 Years of Global Entrepreneurship Week

One week each November, thousands of events and competitions around the world inspire millions to engage in entrepreneurial activity while connecting them to one another, mentors and even investors.

Our Kansas City community has consistently been among the leading cities for GEW events. With more than 150 activities planned this year by local organizations and businesses, there's something for every type of entrepreneur. The wide variety of education, networking and collaborative events give aspiring entrepreneurs and experienced business people an opportunity to share in the spirit of entrepreneurship in Kansas City.

Follow Kansas City’s #GEW Celebration

“Global Entrepreneurship Week is a great opportunity to join a worldwide movement to shine the spotlight on the inspiring stories and resources available to entrepreneurs,” says Jenny Miller, one of the organizers for GEW Kansas City (#GEWKC) and network builder for KCSourceLink, KC’s first stop for small business resources. Other organizing chairs include Katie Baker from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Morgan Perry from the Mid-Continent Public Library and Melissa Roberts from the Enterprise Center in Johnson County.

“But it’s about more than just celebrating our startups and job-creators. GEWKC is all about inviting new and diverse audiences into Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and equipping them with the tools to take their businesses to the next level.”

With 150+ community-organized events divided into four tracks—makers and creators, youth entrepreneurship, business growth and business services—there is certainly something for everyone. Twelve local business owners serve as track captains, who have helped recruit headline events and promote GEWKC to the wider community.

“GEWKC connects people who may not identify as ‘entrepreneurs’—who may think of themselves as makers, creators, freelancers, artists, business owners—with the spark, networks and support they need to start and grow businesses,” adds Miller.

In the spirit of removing barriers to entrepreneurship, more than three-quarters of the events are held at a coworking space, Plexpod Westport Commons, the rest are held at locations across the KC metro, and most of the events are free.

The events themselves—like the Business of Food Trucks, Stepping Stones of a Youth Entrepreneur, Moms Mean Business, For the Fashionpreneur and Prison or ESHIP—join the conventional workshops on such topics as marketing, business planning, funding and more.

Featured headline events cover such topics as fostering innovation in established companies, scaling a business, real-time marketing, mastering Facebook as well as a 10-year celebration of GEW with a reunion of the people who have helped Kansas City build its entrepreneurial infrastructure.

“We believe in growing our own here in Kansas City, in helping business that start here, stay here,” adds Miller. “If we’re going to move our community forward, we have to make resources accessible to everyone and we have to make sure entrepreneurs and business owners have the tools they need to follow their dreams, create jobs and be successful.”

Sarah Mote is the marketing director at SourceLink. Sarah brings her experience as an entrepreneur, storyteller and content strategist to help shape the story of SourceLink and that of our affiliate communities.

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